UEF-USA Forest Sciences Cooperation – Case Knoxville, Tennessee
Text and photo by Henrik Heräjärvi
Most Finns know what PuuC is. Well, at least one interpretation. Reading this blog may broaden your perspective. In addition to being a wooden facility at a summer cottage, PuuC is an acronym for a research project at UEF, School of Forest Sciences. Funded by the Finnish Forest Foundation / Suomen Metsäsäätiö, PuuC aims to quantify the global effects of wood use on fossil carbon dioxide emissions. The task isn’t trivial, but researcher Yang Xu received a great start for her work on the PuuC project when her co-supervisor, Prof. Adam Taylor from the University of Tennessee, visited Joensuu in early summer 2025.
This was Prof. Taylor’s second visit to Joensuu, and the story of how he first came to know the city is quite inspiring. About five years ago, he decided to deepen his understanding of the interactions between forests, wood use, and climate change. To learn more, he spent time searching for information, repeatedly finding himself reading articles and links published by researchers working in a place called Joensuu. Without any prior contacts in the city, he reached out via email to Prof. Antti Kilpeläinen (UEF) and Dr. Henrik Heräjärvi (then working at the Natural Resources Institute Finland Luke) to initiate discussions about hosting a Fulbright scholarship application and subsequent internship. The application was made, and it was accepted. On New Year’s Day 2023, Antti and Henrik welcomed Prof. Taylor, his wife, and their two teenage children at Joensuu railway station, with the mild winter weather of -20°C adding to the adventure.
The six-month Fulbright internship was intensive, interesting, and fruitful. Professionally, Adam’s stay resulted in journal articles, lectures, industry visits, a blog post, increased mutual understanding, and a strong foundation for future collaboration. Among many nature and sauna-related activities, the Taylor family became hopelessly hooked on ice swimming. They even engaged as active members of the local ice swimming club, Jääkarhut, visiting their facilities daily. As a cherry on the Fulbright internship cake, the family organized a memorable farewell party on a rented sauna raft on lake Pyhäselkä in late June 2023. Finnish Midsummer, with 22 hours of daylight and temperatures of +25°C in the air and water, provided a perfect contrast to the freezing January darkness, leaving a lasting sunny impression on everyone.
The positive experience from 2023 was reaffirmed 1.5 years later when Henrik, now working at UEF, informed Adam about the possibility of another trip to Joensuu through the PuuC project. The rest of the Taylor family, including their oldest son, who was unable to join in 2023, was eager to participate again—at their own expense, of course. The visit took place from May 25 to June 5, 2025. After the exhausting travelling and laying down the luggage, it took as much as 20 minutes before the first two Taylors had rented bicycles and were on their way to their favourite destination in Joensuu, the Jääkarhut sauna.
Based on recommendations by Adam, Prof. Don Hodges, Head of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Tennessee, also decided to visit Joensuu for a shorter stay. His presence facilitated discussions on cooperation in forest sciences education, a natural extension of the existing research collaboration. Adam and Don also had the opportunity to visit the John Deere Forest Machinery factory in Joensuu. The modern cut-to-length method is getting a foothold also in the U.S. forests, spreading gradually towards the south from the Great Lakes region. Now the Tennessee professors know that every green harvester and forwarder with a deer logo are made in Joensuu.
What’s next? Researcher Yang Xu, who started her contract at UEF in February 2025, continues her highly productive work. After the intensive work sessions during Adam’s stay in Joensuu, the first article manuscript of Yang’s doctoral thesis is already taking shape. While the first article estimates how wood use has affected fossil emissions in the energy sector, the second one will focus on the wood product side. As a thesis co-supervisor, Adam supports her progress through active email dialogue and regular online meetings. He is also prepared to host Yang’s research visit in Knoxville in spring 2026. Student exchange is under preparation, too, the first opportunities apparently arising from UEF’s Sustainable Forest Bioeconomy BSc programme.
This story has just begun.
Figure: Professor Adam Taylor, University of Tennessee and researcher Yang Xu, University of Eastern Finland.
